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The Hive Mind
Initially seen on a blurred video shown by Dr. Terrence Kyne and worshiped as a divine being by the insane scientist Dr. Challus Mercer, the Hive Mind is the main antagonist of Dead Space, encountered in the final level of the game, on Aegis VII. Dead Space: Chapter 12: Dead Space Overview The Hive Mind was unwillingly created, as a result of testing the experimental Red Marker for military purposes over two centuries prior to the events of Dead Space, on the remote planet of Aegis VII. When the Marker proved to be too dangerous to wield as a weapon, further experimentation with it was aborted and it was used one last time in order to suppress the Hive Mind; a tower-like being that is the source of the Necromorph outbreak on Aegis VII and, subsequently, the [[USG Ishimura| USG Ishimura]]. The creature's appearance and general shape resemble a segmented worm, albeit one of titanic proportions. Its full size is never truly shown, as an unknown portion of the creature is out of view, hidden inside a crater. Its visible portion, however, can be broken down into two segments; a head and a thorax. The head's prominent feature is the creature's mouth, consisting of an outer and an inner mouth, each with their own rows of teeth. The Hive Mind is able to spit acidic projectiles from its mouth. Around the mouth there are five yellow glowing sacks, that strongly resemble eyes but it is unknown if they are serving such a purpose. The thorax features various branch like appendages on the backside, not showing any apparent function whatsoever, and a closed up thorax cavity on the front side which shelters five more yellow sacks, apparently vital organs of the Hive Mind. The Hive Mind is capable of utilizing its immense tentacles, also a characteristic trait of it. It uses three of them during the fight with Isaac however it is almost certain it has more than three. The tentacles grow from some part of the creature that is well bellow its thorax area. What sets the Hive Mind apart from any other Necromorph, is its ability to telepathically control all other Necromorphs, justifying its name. Characteristically, when Isaac Clarke returned the Marker to its pedestal, rendering the Hive Mind dormant, all Necromorph activity was immediately ceased until Kendra Daniels removed the Marker once again.. After reawakening, the Hive Mind becomes aggressive and attacks Isaac and the escaping Kendra as they make it into the shuttle bay. After killing Kendra, it curls its tentacles around Isaac, forming an inescapable enclosure, initiating the final fight. The Hive Mind makes a brief, but impacting appearance in Dead Space: Extraction. After making their way through the Megavents, the newly assembled group proceeds to fight their way to the last remaining shuttle on the colony.Dead Space: Extraction: Chapter 3: Return To The Megavents Just as the "firefight" seems to have subsided, a large tentacle bursts through the flight deck, the camera panning up as it towers overhead and slams down near the group. Gabe Weller does his best to repel the Hive Mind as Nathan McNeill fights his way through another wave of Necromorphs, frantically trying to open the shuttle doors. The full scope of the Hive Mind is seen as it tries to swat the shuttle out of the sky after launch. Strategy Battle Phases The battle with the Hive Mind takes place in several stages: *In the first phase of the battle, the Hive Mind will roar at Isaac as it smashes a tentacle down on him. Use these opportunities to aim, shoot and destroy three of its five mouth-organs to begin the next stage of the battle. *After three pustules lining the mouth have been destroyed it will drag you up in the air in an attempt to devour you. In this stage, you will be hanging upside down and your aiming will be reversed. The Hive Mind will also shake you around to hinder your aiming. When the last two organs are destroyed it will release you, beginning the final battle phase. *At this point there are 5 explosive sacks in the middle of its chest which are now occasionally exposed. Beware of the Pregnants and the explosive projectiles it now spits out at Isaac along with the tentacle slams. Destroy all five sacks in its chest and the Hive Mind is defeated. Tips *One of the Hive Mind's most common methods of attacking involves smashing you with its two tentacles, one at a time. This is easy to dodge, as the Hive Mind sways backwards and coils a tentacle. Watch out for this action. *To avoid the tentacles, move right and left to the far sides of the screen. The left tentacle always falls first, so quickly move to the far right side, then quickly to the left as the right one prepares to fall. *Be wary of your position relative to the explosive canisters laying around, as any canisters hit by the tentacles will detonate, injuring Isaac if he's close by. It would be a good idea to detonate the canisters before entering the boss area, unless you intend to use them as weapons by throwing them with Kinesis. *If you intend to throw the explosive canisters using Kinesis, aim high, as the canisters' ballistic trajectory will simply cause them to miss if they are shot directly at the target. *During the first phase of the battle, it is a good idea to equally weaken all five pustules around its mouth to the point where they only need one more shot in order to be destroyed. Then, eliminate the three pustules on the right side of its mouth first, as they are very difficult to shoot while in midair, and initiate the second phase. This way, you will only have to land a total of two successful shots, one on each of the remaining pustules. It is suggested to test how many shots a single pustule will take before exploding before weakening the others, as the amount changes based on difficulty. *While in the air, it is best to use the Plasma Cutter or Pulse Rifle to shoot its two remaining weak points, due to the weapons' projectiles' high traveling speed and precision. Temporarily reversing the X-axis and Y-axis alignment to your controls can also be an effective method to improve your aim during this phase. *During the third phase, the Hive Mind will only spit out Pregnants if you do not destroy at least one sack when they are exposed. *A well aimed mine from the Line Gun or the Force Gun will sometimes destroy more than one sack in its chest, making it easier and faster to kill it. (Note that if the mine destroys all but one sac, you cannot use another mine to destroy the last one.) *The Contact Beam, in most cases, destroys a sack in one shot. Use this to your advantage, but beware, it has a long charge time if it is not upgraded, which may make you miss. *When the Hive Mind is defeated, while it's swaying in the midst of its death throes, do not stand near the edge of the platform because it falls onto that particular platform edge and you could be crushed. Trivia *The Hive Mind is the largest Necromorph in the series. *Details about the Hive Mind from several logs suggest the Hive Mind commands the Necromorphs telepathically. *The Hive Mind, The Slug and The Leviathan share many similarities. *If you kill it quickly enough, the Hive Mind won't spawn any Pregnants. *During the scripted death sequence, Isaac's RIG will still remain the same amount of health despite having both arms ripped off. *After defeating the Hive Mind, look at the bottom of the crater: you will see tentacles appearing occasionally making a horizontal swipe; then disappearing. *The "Mindless Prey" achievement you get for killing it plays on the pun that the player killed the Hive Mind. *The Marker may play a maternal role to the Hive Mind explaining the "Make us Whole Again" phrase and the extreme aggressiveness of all Necromorphs. *A Hive Mind Tentacle appears in Dead Space: Extraction, while you are heading to a shuttle to get off the surface of Aegis VII. It kills two fellow marines, and attacks the group you are in. You do not fight it, however, as it is merely part of a cutscene. *In the graphic novel Dead Space: Salvage, the Hive Mind is seen on the Ishimura while Stefan Schneider is crossing across the outside of the ship. *The "mouth" of the Hive Mind can be seen behind the Marker's Heart in the final boss battle of Dead Space 2. *The Hive Mind's roar is reused in Dante's Inferno, also made by Visceral Games. It can be heard when Phlegyas rises from the river Styx. *It is interesting to make note of the similarities between the Hive Mind and the "Gravemind" from the Halo series. Besides having very similar names, they share similar traist such as being the controling force of a parasitic life form (Necromorph, and Flood to their respective titles). Death Scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPRFZ4NyvGk&feature=channel_video_title thumb|300px|left|Hive Mind -- Death Sequence 1 If Isaac should fail to destroy the remaining two pustules on the Hive Mind's head when grabbed, a scripted death scene follows. It will force Isaac into its mouth, chew on him for a bit, then pull him out violently, ripping off both Isaac's arms. Isaac then screams in pain. The Hive Mind then grips Isaac between its teeth, then tears him in half at the waist. It swallows Isaac's upper torso and throws his legs to the platform. If Isaac gets hit by a tentacle, he will be dismembered completely, including his upper torso Gallery Image:Hive_mind_stage_1.JPG|Stage 1 Image:Hive_mind_stage_2.JPG|Stage 2 Image:Hive_mind_stage_3.JPG|Stage 3 Extraction hive mind.jpg|Hive Mind appearance in Dead Space: Extraction. DeadSpaceSalvageHiveMind.jpg|The Hive Mind makes its appearance in Salvage Appearances *''Dead Space'' • Chapter 10: End of Days • Chapter 12: Dead Space *''Dead Space: Extraction'' • Chapter 3: Return To The Megavents *''Dead Space: Salvage'' Sources Hive Mind Category:Bosses